Mar Adentro (aka The Sea Inside) (2004) (Spain)

[hengcs]

The movie has garnered
- Best Director and Best Actor in European Film Academy Award 2004.
- Grand Jury and Best Actor in Venice Film Festival 2004.

I have just watched the movie ...

What is good?
-- Okay, lots of people have praised Bardem, but I really want to say that the ENTIRE CAST (e.g., the family members, the lawyer, etc) is magnificent!!!
It is not easy to play supporting roles with very few lines and little screen time, and yet still perform VERY well ... so you really have to CREDIT them ALL!
;)
-- The movie does NOT fall prey into a morality discussion between the religious and legal people ...
-- The movie does NOT over dramatized his plight or pessimism; instead, there was humor peppered throughout by the protagonist. BUT, you don't know whether to laugh (one or two audience did, but I didn't) ... so it is a movie that attempts to leave you mixed in emotions ...
-- In sum, unlike what some people have claimed, the movie is NOT judgmental, it lets the audience decide!
-- The soundtrack is good.

What is controversial?
-- Enough has been said, the topic of euthanasia ...

Conclusion:
It deserves the various awards and recent Golden Globe nomination.

My advice:
-- Go watch the movie!!!
-- Just watch it from a movie goer perspective and NOT a moralist perspective ... after all, it is based on a true story ...

[hengcs]

Originally posted by hengcs
What is good?
-- Okay, lots of people have praised Bardem, but I really want to say that the ENTIRE CAST (e.g., the family members, the lawyer, etc) is magnificent!!!
It is not easy to play supporting roles with very few lines and little screen time, and yet still perform VERY well ... so you really have to CREDIT them ALL!
;)


Hooray ... I was right!
;P

Their PERFORMANCE have all been recognized in the Goya awards ... The Sea Inside has 15 nominations and WON 14:

The performances that won are:
- best actor and actress
- best supporting actor and actress
- best newcomer actor and actress

The other categories that it won are:
- film, director,
- script, photography, make-up and music

[oscar jubis]

No need to wait until Oscar Night, Alejandro Amenabar's Mar Adentro will win the Academy Award for Best Foreign-language film. Hope it stimulates some action at the box office. At least in my town, there's seems to be more interest in Almodovar's film, which is having a long, successful run here. Spanish Cinema seems to be specializing in superb "issue dramas". Iciar Bollain's Take My Eyes, a drama dealing with domestic violence and a big hit at our festival a year ago, will apparently not get distribution. I don't recall watching a better drama about globalization and unemployment than Goya winner Mondays in the Sun, starring Javier Bardem. In Mar Adentro (translated as "The Sea Inside" not the more appropriate "Deep Sea"), Mr. Bardem is poet/activist Ramon Sanpedro, a real life character who's lived for 26 years as a quadriplegic (meaning "without dignity" according to him). The central issue of the film is his right to decide to die without government interference, in the open, with certainty that those who may assist him will not face persecution. The script reveals only slight prejudice against the point-of-view of the Church, when Ramon's sister-in-law reveals the priest has explained away Ramon's death wish as a consequence of his family's lack of love. Otherwise Mar Adentro presents a fair and balanced treatment of the issues from different interested parties. The script also excells at injecting unforced humor (lost in the translation only 2 or 3 times). The whole cast is fine, with a special mention for Mr. Bardem playing against type, Mabel Rivera as sis-in-law Manuela, and Lola Duenas as single mom/laid-off worker who fights to create a place for herself in Ramon's life. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (The Others, Talk to Her) reminds us he's one of the best in the business during Ramon's mobile fantasies. Oscar goes to Spain!